WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission has released traditional specialized mobile radio operators from local number portability requirements.
Portability refers to telephone subscribers keeping their telephone number when switching service providers. The FCC has said number portability is essential for competition to develop.
The decision shows the FCC “finally is recognizing that one size does not fit all,” said Alan R. Shark, president of the American Mobile Telecommunications Association.
The FCC’s decision recognizes that traditional SMR operations do not accommodate seven-digit telephone numbers found in the common carrier world, Shark said. Some SMR services like those offered by Nextel Communications Inc. would still be covered under the local number portability rules because each handset responds to a specific telephone number. Attempts to reach Nextel for comment were unsuccessful.
“What is more flattering is that [the FCC] used our own language,” said Shark, to make the distinction between traditional SMR operations and Nextel-like services.
Nextel is expected to join the rest of the wireless industry, which consistently has argued wireless number portability is not necessary because of the competition that exists in the industry.
The FCC has rejected these arguments in the past. However, the commission has delayed implementation of wireless number portability until March 31, 2000.
